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AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring
advertisements to disclose the use of synthetic media
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 396-b of the general business law, as added by
chapter 1031 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:
§ 396-b. Advertisements. 1. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "SYNTHETIC
MEDIA" MEANS ANY HUMAN VOICE, PHOTOGRAPH, IMAGE, VIDEO OR OTHER HUMAN
LIKENESS CREATED, REPRODUCED, OR MODIFIED BY COMPUTER, USING ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE OR SOFTWARE ALGORITHM, TO BE INDISTINGUISHABLE TO A REASON-
ABLE VIEWER FROM A NATURAL PERSON.
2. Any person, firm, corporation or association, or agent or employee
thereof, hereinafter called person, who, being engaged in the business
of dealing in any property, makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates
or places before the public or causes, directly or indirectly, to be
made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public,
in this state, any advertisement respecting any such property, in any
newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or over any radio station or
television station, unless it is stated in any such advertisement that
the advertiser is a dealer in such property or from the context of any
such advertisement, it plainly appears that such person is a dealer in
such property so offered for sale in any such advertisement; or when
placing or causing any such advertisement to appear in any newspaper,
magazine or other publication or radio or television station as
described in this section, if requested by the publisher of any such
newspaper, magazine or other publication or owner or operator of such
radio or television station or any agent or representative thereof to
file with such owner or operator, publisher, agent or representative
thereof his true name, or where he is transacting business under a name
other than the true name pursuant to law, then the name under which such
business is transacted, and each business address wherein any business
is transacted by him, in the class of property advertised or to be
advertised for sale in such advertisement, shall make any false state-
ment in relation to any of such items; or if requested by the publisher
of any such newspaper, magazine or other publication or owner or operator of such radio or television station or any agent or representative
thereof to file with such owner, operator, publisher, agent or represen-
tative thereof a statement showing whether he is causing such advertise-
ment to appear or is offering to make such sale or disposition or trans-
action, as herein set forth, as principal or agent, and if as agent, to
set forth such information as is specified in this section, in relation
to his principal as well as in relation to himself, shall make any false
statement in relation to any of such items; is guilty of a misdemeanor.
3. ANY PERSON ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF DEALING IN ANY PROPERTY OR
SERVICE WHO FOR ANY COMMERCIAL PURPOSE MAKES, PUBLISHES, DISSEMINATES,
CIRCULATES OR PLACES BEFORE THE PUBLIC OR CAUSES, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECT-
LY, TO BE MADE, PUBLISHED, DISSEMINATED, CIRCULATED OR PLACED BEFORE THE
PUBLIC ANY ADVERTISEMENT RESPECTING ANY SUCH PROPERTY OR SERVICE, IN ANY
MEDIUM OR MEDIA IN WHICH SUCH ADVERTISEMENT APPEARS, SHALL DISCLOSE IN
SUCH ADVERTISEMENT IF SYNTHETIC MEDIA IS IN SUCH ADVERTISEMENT, WHERE
SUCH PERSON KNOWS OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN.
(A) IF SYNTHETIC MEDIA HAS BEEN USED IN ANY COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENT
UNDER THIS SECTION TO CREATE A LIKENESS THAT DEPICTS A NATURAL PERSON,
WITHOUT THAT PERSON'S CONSENT, ENGAGED IN ANY ACTION OR EXPRESSION IN
WHICH THE NATURAL PERSON DID NOT ACTUALLY ENGAGE, SUCH ADVERTISEMENT
SHALL INCLUDE A DISCLAIMER WHICH CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY STATES THAT
SUCH LIKENESS FEATURED IN SUCH ADVERTISEMENT IS SYNTHETIC, DOES NOT
DEPICT A NATURAL PERSON, AND IS GENERATED TO CREATE A HUMAN LIKENESS.
(B) IT SHALL NOT BE A DEFENSE TO AN ACTION UNDER THIS OR ANY OTHER LAW
THAT THE DISCLAIMER REQUIRED UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION HAS
BEEN INCLUDED IF THE SYNTHETIC MEDIA DEPICTS A NATURAL PERSON WITHOUT
SUCH NATURAL PERSON'S CONSENT.
(C) A VIOLATION OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL RESULT IN A CIVIL PENALTY OF
ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A FIRST VIOLATION, AND FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS
FOR ANY SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION.
4. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL LIMIT OR REDUCE ANY RIGHTS ANY PERSON
MAY HAVE UNDER SECTION FIFTY, FIFTY-F, OR FIFTY-ONE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS
LAW OR UNDER ANY OTHER LAW.
5. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO LIMIT, OR TO ENLARGE,
THE PROTECTIONS THAT 47 U.S.C. SECTION 230 CONFERS ON AN INTERACTIVE
COMPUTER SERVICE FOR CONTENT PROVIDED BY ANOTHER INFORMATION CONTENT
PROVIDER, AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN 47 U.S.C. SECTION 230.
§ 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
invalid provisions had not been included herein.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.